Ben sipped on his single malt and looked along the length of the packed bar to the far short side. A mouthwatering young blonde was getting chatted up by six guys in what appeared to be a practiced and well-coordinated effort. College football players out celebrating the end of the season, from the look of it. From his vantage point, it was clear they'd done this kind of thing many times before, circling the poor first-year like lions preparing to put down an unwary gazelle. Ben figured there was a gangbang ahead in the not too distant future for the unwitting young blonde. She was the only one that didn't know it yet.
Recalling that the local team was named after the big cat, he smirked. Shared take-downs like the one in progress might be a long-standing team tradition.
Turning away from the footballers' pursuit, as entertaining as it was, Ben focused on his own.
Three young women were chatting right behind him while they were trying to get a bartender's attention. "God, the finals are even worse this year. Why did I let dad talk me into going for an MSc? I was done! And today, Professor J suggested that the paper I'd submitted should be the base of my dissertation since it would make a perfect topic for my PhD! I'm sure that will give dad just great ideas when I tell him," he heard behind him. "Sometimes I just wish I was as clueless as that blonde bimbo over there, so I didn't have to worry about all thesâOh, sorry!" the voice said as Ben sat up subtly to make the girl think she'd gotten jostled against his shoulder by the crowd pressing in behind her when they made contact.
He turned around on the stool and smiled at her. He'd watched her in the mirror behind the bar and had already pinned down the type. Sumptuous brunette, slender and graceful like a dancer. Intelligent, conscientiousâand at the end of her wits from the demands of academic life.
"Careful what you wish for," he said, taking the opportunity to butt into their conversation. "I would love to grant that! Let you take a break from that always-on, brilliant brain for a night, to experience true mindfulness. Like a holiday from yourself!"
He wasn't lying. His reality-shifting magic and the sort of alterations he enjoyed implementing in a girl was ideal for just that sort of thing. And obtaining a new collectible that he could shift to pay for his extravagant lifestyle was why he was at this well-known student hangout tonight. This accomplished and beautiful postgrad would do perfectly.
"Yeah, sure, I don't do drugs," his attractive quarry said with annoyance, almost dismissing him and turning back to her friends before giving his handmade Ralph Lauren another look. She glanced up at him, head tilted to the side, unable to match his well-groomed presentation with the trope of a student bar drug dealer.
He just shook his head and grinned at her. She was clever. She'd figure it out.
"Wait, are you talking about magic?" the girl suddenly said, and his grin grew wider. "You're some sort of doll Maker, aren't you? Are you offering to adjust me to help me relax?" She flashed an impish smile at her friends, then leaned into his ear to speak softer. He could smell the alluring scent of her hair as she got close to him. "What exactly are you suggesting? And will you turn me back afterward? Perhaps leaving a few fun improvements when we part?" she asked playfully, glancing back over her shoulder at her giggling friends before looking back at him, her deep brown eyes meeting his.
He knew he had her. He kept a straight face, just enjoyed watching the intelligent spark in her eyes as the idea firmly took hold in her, her creativity running wild exploring the potentials of this unique opportunity. Fully engaged and using her intellect like this, the young woman was absolutely stunning. Anyone could recognize how this one had a bright future ahead of her, which made the whole thing just so much better. Once he'd used his power to make her into a mindless amusement, those lively and curious big eyes that currently took in everything would be as beautifully empty and blank as a doll's.
"I can turn you back in the morning if you want," he said. Then he grinned and spoke louder, so her friends and anyone near could hear. "So... was your wish just empty talk, or would you like to spend a night as a carefree, empty-headed bimbo? Should we turn that bothersome brain of yours off for a little whileâso you can experience how it feels to be an easygoing, simple-minded little fucktoy?"
The brunette gasped at his boldness and began blushing, breaking eye-contact and looking down demurely. Ben could tell she was intentionally using the tawny curls falling forward over her face to hide from him while her face burned. The coyness only added to her allure. The girl let out a nervous little giggleâthen her quick mind seemed to come to a decision, and she grinned and nodded to herselfâher demeanor changed.
Ben's selected plaything looked up at him from behind her styled, voluminous locks, those big eyes of hers steadily meeting his again. "Come... tell me more about what you're going to do to me," she breathed. She turned and glanced back at him over her shoulder as she started sashaying towards the private booths. Following the girl past the bar towards the club's sit-down area, Ben admired her tight ass and how she wiggled it to hold his attention.
'Gotcha!' he thought.
--
Ben's gift was a constrained form of magic, every positive change a tradeoffâcoming with a cost somewhere else. A character Maker, he was able to respec a female like in a role-playing game, draining points from one aspect while adding it to another. He had since long figured out that min-maxing a girlâlimiting her to shine in just one, prescribed wayâgave him the most joy. Anyone that had ever played one of these games on a computer knew how that stuff worked. You entirely drained a stat you didn't care for, so you could max out something more fun.
If you got bored of a particular setup, you'd just switch out the character for someone that was min-maxed a different way. Maybe make a new character. That was why he had such an extensive stable of girls at home. Keeping them all incurred unreasonably high living expenses, but it was so hard to cut down.